China plans to catch asteroids and bring them down to Earth

At some point in our lives, most of us have wished to catch a falling star but we know that this isn’t possible. However, seems like China is set to make this possible by catching an asteroid and bringing it down to Earth.

A group of astrophysicists has put forward a plan to take over small near-Earth asteroids and bring them down to Earth. “Unlike missions to bring samples back, we aim to bring back a whole asteroid weighing several hundred tons, which could turn asteroids with a potential threat to Earth into usable resources," said researcher Li Mingtao.

Pulling down an entire asteroid, scientists believe, could provide plenty of minerals of industrial and economic importance. The technique could also enhance research into solar system origins and the beginnings of water and life on Earth, along with lessening threat posed by near-Earth objects, wrote Tech Times.

Sky gazers to get chance of seeing giant asteroid with naked eye

For capturing the asteroids, Li and his team pitched to design a spacecraft that can wield a huge bag, which can be used to carry the asteroid as it pushes it toward Earth. As the asteroid will come near Earth, the craft will trigger a heat shield in order to reduce the asteroid’s velocity, also preventing it from burning up when it enters Earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft will then be directed towards an area with no human settlements where it will be safe to land, explained Xinhua.

However, the plan for sure comes along with many challenges. As a first, detecting an actual asteroid to catch might be bit difficult for which, Li is working with space engineers at the Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology to develop a constellation of satellites for finding and analyzing near-Earth objects with a diameter of 32 feet.

Also, designing a heat shield that can greatly reduce asteroid speed from 7.7miles/second to 459ft/second will also be challenging.

The team is currently eyeing a small asteroid about 62 million miles away weighing hundreds of tons, but need to know what its components are first. The team hopes to launch their plan into space by 2029 and bring a small asteroid down to Earth by 2034. “Space mining might become a new engine for the global economy,” he said.